One of the communities that lost its entire infrastructure was Pass Christian, Mississippi. Today, hundreds of residents are living in tents – eating, sleeping and sometimes even working from them. One person working out of a tent these days is Rebecca Dickeneauge, who runs a child care center for local residents impacted by the storm. Presently there are 49 children enrolled with a huge waiting list due to space limitations. Until several weeks ago, the center was operating out of several cramped, 420 square foot tents, with no natural light.

Staff Photo

Inside the day care center, children sit for a photo.

In response to a plea for more space, AmeriCares has recently completed the installation of two donated “Sprung Structures,” to expand the day care center’s area of operations. The donations are all weather, semi-permanent tented structures that are being equipped with heat and air conditioning. Each of them provides 700 square feet of space, a substantial increase for the active children. Even better, the tents have windows and skylights, flooding them with natural light.

“These new tents will give the children sunlight instead of being in darkroom conditions,” said Dickeneauge.